We began at 8:45am. Nic and I got Shazam's motor running by 9:30 and we arrived at the Harbortown fuel dock at 11:30, shortly after the first race began. By the time Aaron boarded and we managed to find the start gates and buoy markers, the second race began, and we had a late start... The wind died frequently, then picked up in gusty sheets, making it difficult to get to where we needed to go, so we never actually finished the race, but managed to complete two laps in around an hour and thirty minutes. Because we were the only boat of our kind, we would have won first if we had finished, or at least in our class.
It actually became the most interesting when the wind died off. We'd sit idle for a moment, and then I'd tell Aaron to take the tiller while I went below deck to grab my drybag full of lunch (he held it with his foot..bruh.) The two of them went through about five packs of peanut-butter and cheese filled crackers(did not accept my grapes). At some point, it became way too quiet, so Aaron asked Nic what kind of music he liked, Nic asked what his opinion of skateboards was, and eventually it drifted to politics: Islamic radicals, gun laws, and global warming.
Nic didn't do as much as he was trying to be an adult leader and stay out of the way while we sailed, though sometimes he would switch with Aaron on the jib sheets. Towards the end, I managed both the tiller and the main, and later attempted the jib sheets while Aaron fiddled with the motor. I say attempted because the winds were so strong that I sometimes had a hard time matching their strength, and Aaron would have to pull it in further and "tie it off." I was slightly jealous.. just have to work harder and build my strength. I'll get there someday.
And then I met Macey at DancinGrits. I quickly met a few of her friends, and learned a some of the more manageable line dances like the Electric Slide. The "ET Hammer" or something hammer was what got me. The moves were so fast, I would often lose my place and pick back up halfway through, but it was still fun. Those line dances had me sweating!
For the partner dances (only girl-boy so that boys don't learn the following part and girls don't learn the leading part when partnered with other girls), we learned the basic waltz. 1/4 turns, and backwards and forwards. The basic is 1 backwards step on right, 2 sidestep on left, 3 slide right to left, ending together ( one of my dance partners showed me to slide that step). Speaking of partners, sometimes the boys would have to ask the girls, and sometimes the girls would have to ask the boys. There wasn't as much fear involved because you essentially just walked forward and asked the first person you made eye-contact with. There's no use fishing around. Not only did the partner dances have one practice communicating and inviting fearlessly, but they also provided for the practice of one's social skills through small talk during the dances. Not bad at all.
To sum things up, today, I learned:
• A tack is a turn where the bow (front) passes through the wind (coming from the front).
• A jibe is a turn where the stern (back) passes through the wind (coming from the rear).
• Asking a guy you've never met to dance isn't nearly as hard as it seems.
• When you're not doing anything on a boat, you're job is to stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hands at your hips, and peer out into the distance looking "nautical." - Aaron
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